Sir Les Paul
The Duke of Chords
Ketsuekikawa is a relatively large, but out-of-the way city located Southwest of Mt. Fuji in Japan. The City is a recreational area in many respects; a majority of its business and revenue come from seasonal events and visitors. While this is in part due to the large amount of springs with varying temperatures, it is more attributed to the four-day period in late July (normally between the 22nd and the 28th, varying by the year) in which the Ketsue River is brightly illuminated by the mid-morning until mid-evening. During this time, the river can be seen glowing bright hues of orange, purple, pink and red. Swimming in the river during these times is considered Good Luck for the year, and each color traditionally represents what type of luck one might have: red represents personal passions, pink represents love, purple is financial success and orange is better health. While the city sounds like a laid back vacation spot in Japan, it does have a darker side...
Originally, the city was a small establishment used during the Warring States period of Japan to house people of political intrigue. The owners of it switched various times, but the culture that developed within the camp became one of manipulation and favors were the individuals of higher rank dealt out promises to be reaped when the individual was freed; and, this did happen from time to time, most notably if the specific piece of land fell to the house of those inside the camp. In a generation, the camp became a twisted place of dubious favors and a criminal hierarchy, turning simple men into true killers. Near the end of the period, the entire camp was executed due to the hassle of maintaining it and the loss of soldiers guarding it. Soon after, it was razed, then rebuilt into Ketsuekikawa; its history mostly wiped from the slate.
There was a transitional time as the town grew, but it wasn't due to the tourist attractions - at least, not yet. The criminal history of the town led to connections to it even after its destruction for illegal trade. Once ports were built, the city became center for smuggling. In a way, this persists to today. Now, while Ketsuekikawa is a large tourist attraction that pulls in thousands of people per year, it is also a center for exotic drugs and rare substances in the Eastern World. Most things found in the City are harshly illegal elsewhere and enforcement is minimal due to it being part of the "local charm" of the city. This has led to the formation of gangs and a thug culture during the off-season, mostly due to the significantly smaller stream of money for those that walk the streets.
The City has several educational institutions, although some are more similar to prisons for child thugs than areas meant to enlighten young minds. At the high end, there are famous preparatory schools like Sarayashiki High and its rival Kazegafuchi High. Many brilliant minds, primarily engineers, have went on to post-secondary schools and colleges and even became international students. On the other hand, several smaller, less funded and more dangerous schools exist, such as Rugafuji High and Iwamano High, that are established mostly to slim down the number of students per school so that truant officers and street enforcers have an easier time maintaining peace. This has proven to be counter-intuitive as the smaller schools have made their districts their "turf" resulting in danger for those that cross over. Each school tends to sell a handful of different drugs, each claim their women are the prettiest, each proclaim their parties the best, and for all of their boasting, most of them will end up working a mundane job or at a family business if they don't end up in the ever-enlarging prison system in the Western half of the city known as the Red Block. Ironically, many of them become the enforcers and officers that police the streets they used to run.
Originally, the city was a small establishment used during the Warring States period of Japan to house people of political intrigue. The owners of it switched various times, but the culture that developed within the camp became one of manipulation and favors were the individuals of higher rank dealt out promises to be reaped when the individual was freed; and, this did happen from time to time, most notably if the specific piece of land fell to the house of those inside the camp. In a generation, the camp became a twisted place of dubious favors and a criminal hierarchy, turning simple men into true killers. Near the end of the period, the entire camp was executed due to the hassle of maintaining it and the loss of soldiers guarding it. Soon after, it was razed, then rebuilt into Ketsuekikawa; its history mostly wiped from the slate.
There was a transitional time as the town grew, but it wasn't due to the tourist attractions - at least, not yet. The criminal history of the town led to connections to it even after its destruction for illegal trade. Once ports were built, the city became center for smuggling. In a way, this persists to today. Now, while Ketsuekikawa is a large tourist attraction that pulls in thousands of people per year, it is also a center for exotic drugs and rare substances in the Eastern World. Most things found in the City are harshly illegal elsewhere and enforcement is minimal due to it being part of the "local charm" of the city. This has led to the formation of gangs and a thug culture during the off-season, mostly due to the significantly smaller stream of money for those that walk the streets.
The City has several educational institutions, although some are more similar to prisons for child thugs than areas meant to enlighten young minds. At the high end, there are famous preparatory schools like Sarayashiki High and its rival Kazegafuchi High. Many brilliant minds, primarily engineers, have went on to post-secondary schools and colleges and even became international students. On the other hand, several smaller, less funded and more dangerous schools exist, such as Rugafuji High and Iwamano High, that are established mostly to slim down the number of students per school so that truant officers and street enforcers have an easier time maintaining peace. This has proven to be counter-intuitive as the smaller schools have made their districts their "turf" resulting in danger for those that cross over. Each school tends to sell a handful of different drugs, each claim their women are the prettiest, each proclaim their parties the best, and for all of their boasting, most of them will end up working a mundane job or at a family business if they don't end up in the ever-enlarging prison system in the Western half of the city known as the Red Block. Ironically, many of them become the enforcers and officers that police the streets they used to run.
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